The communications industry, both telecom and datacom, are increasingly deploying architecture with stacked printed wiring boards (PWB). Functions such as servers and switches are migrating from a standalone box and into a board-level form-factor, which is called a blade, which plugs into a common chassis. Therefore, interconnect opportunities at the board level are becoming more important. As the transmission speed increases, copper-based interconnects are facing technical challenges in terms of speed, reach, EMI, and routing.
Data communications with missile and munitions bodies present a challenge to move high bandwidth data (digital and/or radio-frequency) between PWBs. There are strict constraints on the overall physical size of PWBs, making the routing and transport of high speed electrical data difficult.
Therefore, various methods and optical systems are disclosed that obviate the need for large and heavy data interconnects between PWBs, and also provide increased data capability.